Turkey’s Islamic defence consultancy founder dead aged 79

ANKARA: The founder of Turkey´s defence consultancy SADAT, widely viewed as Ankara´s secret weapon in wars across North Africa and the Middle East, died on Sunday according to Turkish media.

Besides founding the private military outfit in 2012, 79-year-old Adnan Tanriverdi also served as a senior adviser to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan between 2016 and 2020.

A brigadier general whose service ended during a purge of Islamic influence from the traditionally secular military in 1996, Tanriverdi founded SADAT International Defence Consultancy in 2012.

SADAT came under international scrutiny over its stealth role in promoting Turkey´s interests abroad, although Tanriverdi´s son and the company´s current chief Melih Tanriverdi told AFP in 2021 that it had “nothing to do with being a mercenary organisation”.

On its website, the company´s manifesto says it aims “to establish a Defense Collaboration and Defense Industry Cooperation among Islamic Countries to help (the) Islamic World take the place where it merits among Superpowers”.